Announcing the 2025 Winners of the Mike Berger Award & the Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award

Columbia Journalism School announced today that reporters from Business Insider and KFF Health News have won the 2025 Meyer “Mike” Berger Award and the 2025 Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award, respectively. The two awards are judged by the faculty of Columbia Journalism School and are given out annually at graduation. A series from a news partnership between the Center for Public Integrity, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and Mother Jones was named a finalist for the Tobenkin Award.

Cecilia Reyes, a bilingual senior reporter for Business Insider, has won the 2025 Meyer “Mike” Berger Award for “Locked Out”, a deeply reported series about illegal evictions, which are on the rise across the country. The moving and ambitious series delves into the illegal housing evictions known as "lockouts." Reyes began with 911 calls in Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles, and traced the consequences of these lockouts on individuals and families who bear the brunt of pursuing expensive legal action, often without the resources to do so. In deeply human terms, but without sentimentality, the investigation illuminates the cruelty and inequality that increasingly plague American society. 

Named after the late New York Times reporter Meyer “Mike” Berger, the Berger Award is given annually to a reporter(s) for an outstanding example of in-depth, human interest reporting. The award carries a $1,500 honorarium. 

The 2025 Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award winner is KFF Health News’ “Systemic Sickness” series by reporters Fred Clasen-Kelly, Renuka Rayasam, Lauren Sausser, Arthur Allen, Angela Hart, and Daniel Chang who exposed how historically systemic racism in the United States continues to harm the health of Black Americans. Through a year-long investigation, the team traced the roots of today’s health disparities to slavery, redlining, and discriminatory decisions in housing, infrastructure, and access to care. Their deeply sourced reporting not only challenged common assumptions about personal responsibility but also revealed how the government has perpetuated deadly health inequities. Drawing on public records and powerful human stories, the series is an indictment of how historical injustice dramatically impacts life and death.

The Tobenkin Award jury also selected a finalist; 40 Acres and a Lie from three nonprofit newsrooms; the Center for Public Integrity, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and Mother Jones.

The Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award, named in honor of the late New York Herald Tribune reporter, recognizes outstanding achievements in reporting on racial or religious hatred, intolerance, or discrimination in the United States. The award also carries a $1,500 honorarium.

2025 Berger Award Jurors’ Citation: 

The 2025 Meyer Berger Award goes to Cecilia Reyes for her moving and ambitious series in Business Insider, delving into the illegal housing evictions known as "lockouts." Reyes began with 911 calls in Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles, and traced the consequences of these lockouts on individuals and families who bear the brunt of pursuing expensive legal action, often without the resources to do so. In deeply human terms, but without sentimentality, the investigation illuminates the cruelty and inequality that increasingly plague American society. 

Jurors: Keith Gessen, Alisa Solomon, Margaret Sullivan

Locked Out in Business Insider

2025 Tobenkin Award Jurors’ Citation:

In their “Systemic Sickness” series, Fred Clasen-Kelly, Renuka Rayasam, Lauren Sausser, Arthur Allen, Angela Hart, and Daniel Chang of KFF Health News exposed how historically systemic racism in the United States continues to harm the health of Black Americans. Through a year-long investigation, the team traced the roots of today’s health disparities to slavery, redlining, and discriminatory decisions in housing, infrastructure, and access to care. Their deeply sourced reporting not only challenged common assumptions about personal responsibility but also revealed how the government has perpetuated deadly inequities. Drawing on public records and powerful human stories, the series is an indictment of how historical injustice dramatically impacts life and death.

Jurors: Aida Alami, Dolores A Barclay, Maria Elena Cabral

Systemic Sickness in KFF Health News

2025 Tobenkin Award Finalist Citation:

In “40 Acres and a Lie”, reporters Alexia Fernandez Campbell, April Simpson, Pratheek Rebala, and Nadia Hamdan identified more than 1,200 formerly enslaved people who were granted land by the federal government, only to have it taken away. The project took two years of meticulous archival research and the development of a machine-learning tool to scan nearly two million Freedmen’s Bureau records. The team subsequently created a public database that allows descendants to check if their ancestors owned land. The project also led to the creation of an image recognition system for 19th-century documents that could detect land titles based on visual features. Their investigation, a rare collaboration across nonprofit newsrooms, is a major step towards reparations. The reporting is a partnership between three nonprofit newsrooms: the Center for Public Integrity, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and Mother Jones.

40 Acres and a Lie featured in the Center for Public Integrity, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and Mother Jones.